A "how to" on the sparkler fun..

First of all, even though it was getting pretty dark outside, I set the ISO on a low setting (my camera only goes to 200)...because I knew that the light from the sparkler itself would be very bright.

The second thing I did was put the Aperture at about 5 or so...so that the background would be more blurry, knowing that the person doing the 'writing' would be moving and that the slow shutter speed would make the nothing but a mess.

Then I brought my camera into "bulb" mode..which is found when you start heading into really slow shutter speeds. I wanted the camera to catch the movement of the light and slow shutter speeds is how you do that. "Bulb" mode allows you to control exactly how long the shutter stays open. You hold the button as long as you want..and when you let go, it closes.

So then we would get ready, spark up the sparkler, get into position and I would say "GO!" then hold my breath (trying to avoid camera shake) and the shutter button while the person did the writing..and hope for the best! You should have seen me when I realized that it worked! I was so excited:) Then when I started showing everyone the kinds of pics I was getting we had lots of ideas flying around about what to do....and then we ran out of sparklers!

I think it would look better in the complete dark..although, I kinda like being able to see the person in the background as well.

And then, like I said in the other post, with Lacy's name I had to flip it in an editing program because she wasn't confident that she would be able to spell it backwards. With the heart it didn't matter.

So yeah...go to the store and by some sparklers and have some fun!

Sparkler fun.

Of course, as soon as I started 'perfecting' this type of picture, we ran out of sparklers. We were starting to have so much fun with this idea....so we will undoubtedly be purchasing more so that I can have even more fun!!!

This was when I started figuring it out..

Kirsten's heart..


So then we moved onto bigger and better things:) (haha)
Lacy wrote her name the regular way from her perspective, so of course, it was backwards when I took the picture. I just did a little flippety flip in Paint to make it read the correct way.


I think next time we will wait till it's totally dark outside.
Need. to. go. get. more. sparklers.
tee hee

Sunsets

It amazes me how quickly the "perfect" picture of a sunset disappears. Josh and I were driving back from Tilton (through Laconia) tonight and noticed that the sun was peaking through the clouds over the lake 'just right'. I happened to have my camera with me in the van, so he pulled over as quickly as he could so that I could jump out and get a picture (he's such a good guy!). By the time I got out and crossed the street to get in a good position to get a picture, the 'just right' scene had come and gone. The pictures I did manage to get still show the beauty of the evening, but I promise...30 seconds before this was taken it looked even better!


..and since I had put in the effort to get out of the van and cross the road to take a picture, I figured I would try to get a bit creative while I was there (which was all of, maybe, one minute). This was just about all of the creativity I could muster at that moment...hahaha. A close-up silhouette'ish shot of these half dead flowers on the side of the railroad tracks:)

Phew!

We have had an interesting few weeks here in our family. It started with Jake and Shara's wedding (and all the preparation leading up to it), followed by all kinds of 'end of year' celebrations at school between Jessalyn and Ethan's classes, moved along to an amazing funeral (yes, I just said those two words in one sentence) and ended with a Bar Mitzvah. Add in the usual things in between and you will understand why my blogging has not been up to par lately!

The wedding was beautiful. Shara and Jake did a wonderful job planning and executing this special day. It was a blessing to all of us who were involved and everyone who was able to attend as well.

The funeral was for a dear friend who battled cancer for the last six years. He and his wife (who also happens to be my cousin) were a MAJOR influence on Josh and I as we developed our relationship in our high school/college days and the exact couple that modeled the type of marriage that we strive for. The funeral was an great celebration of his life and an amazing testimony at the very same time. Although very saddened by this loss, everyone went away with a feeling of hope, and even left feeling encouraged.

The Bar Mitzvah was for the two boys that Kirsten has helped care for over the last 10 years. Our families have developed quite a relationship over the years. We are invited to their home several times throughout the year...with our annual Lupine walks and our yearly invitation to celebrate a day of Hannukah with them. Both of these are highlights for us and especially our kids! They have enjoyed learning the different traditions held by a Jewish family and have now come to know what to expect! Latkas, Dreidals...even some of the blessings in Hebrew are familiar to my kids. They boys love to play with Jack and Aden. They love to put on concerts with with all of their musical instruments. Our trip to this household is not complete without some trampoline jumping, bike riding and basketball playing that happens in the barn....oh, and I can't forget about the dancing!

This was our first experience at a Bar Mitzvah though. Jack and Aden did an awesome job and it was a pleasure to watch them both participate in this special occasion. I wasn't able to stay for the whole service becuase my kids weren't able to sit quitely for quite long enough...although, they did a pretty good job in my opinion:) We were also asked to not take and photos during the actual ceremony, so I don't have any shots of this.

The reception was another story! I have to say, that I won't ever turn down an opportunity to attend a Bar Mitzvah (if another opportunity arrises!). This was a FUN party! Lots of yummy food and GREAT band and dancing, dancing, dancing. Oh. And did I mention that there was dancing?

At this point I most definitely got out my camera to take some pics and quickly found myself pirched up on the side of the trampoline, holding onto the pole that holds the saftey netting up. I was hanging on precariously while the kids (including Jessalyn) were busy bouncing away on the inside. It turned out to be a great place to get some decent pictures...although, I found myself having to time my shutter clicks just right as I could feel that the jumpers were in mid air. If I timed it wrong I ended up being bounced and got funny looking pictures!

I posted many (many) of them on my smugmug site...but I will post a few (or probably more than a few) of my favorites on here as well.

Have I mentioned lately how much Ethan has taken to any sort of dance party? The boys has some moves and suddenly is NOT afraid to jump in and share them with everyone. Notice that he is the only little kid in the circle of dancers. The rest of the kids were busy jumping on the trampoline while Ethan was one of the first to jump out on the dance floor. He didn't miss one single dance. Anyone who "knows" Ethan will tell you that he will hide behind my legs if you try to have a conversation with him...but give him some music and a dance floor (that is "big enough", according to him) and he is not shy AT ALL:)

Memorial Day

An entire day with family. A nice relaxing day.










And a GINORMOUS "THANK YOU!!" to Grampa Bill and all those who have served or are serving our Country.

So little time...so little posts!!!

You would think that drumming was my job this month!! Out of 15 days straight, I have been out drumming for one event or another 12 of them. Josh likes to say "mommy by day, rock star by night". Haha. I would have to say that I'm far from "rock star" status..but I sure am having fun!!

I haven't really had much time for my camera...but I do have a couple of pictures to share.

Ethan was in the upstairs hallway in his spiderman costume (or more specifically "venom" costume) and I noticed that the lighting was good at that moment so I grabbed my camera. He has no trouble posing for the camera when he is doing something like being spiderman. Ignore the old ripped up wallpaper in the background...we haven't gotten to that room yet:) And..since I have exhausted all of my free photoshop trials, I am without a photo editing program to fix them. Its hard..because now that I tried the trials of the really really good programs, it is hard for me to settle for a $100 to $200 program. I'm just gonna have to save my pennies:)

Until then, all pictures are "sooc" (straight out of the camera).





Also....I have a new place to host my photos that I am VERY excited about!! I have finally made the jump to smugmug which is an amazing photo hosting site. They have the most quality uploads and a really cool set up for navigation and things. You can also order prints from here as well. I have UNLIMITED space here....YEAH!!!!

So..bookmark this site....
http://brownjelo.smugmug.com/

The Basin

Some amazing friends of ours, Paul and Dona-Lynn, brought Josh and I (and Owen!) out for breakfast at Polly's Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill. Its one of our favorite places to go...we try to get there at least once a year, if not twice. Its about an hours drive, but well worth it!

One the way back home we stopped for a little hike to the Basin. I was having fun trying to really capture the movement of the water. A tripod would have been very helpful on this day!